At a certain point everyone will taste the certainty of death. And while the majority of people who die and are buried in the great state of Ohio aren’t famous, there are some who buck that trend. Here’s a list of the most famous/historically significant people buried in Ohio. May we remember them fondly.

Alan Freed Lakeview Cemetery Though Freed was not the first DJ to play rock ‘n’ roll on the radio, he is known for popularizing the genre and also for organizing the first rock ‘n’ roll concert. He became a kind of scapegoat for the 1959 payola scandal and tragically ended up drinking himself to death. Photo via Wikimedia Commons
Annie Oakley Brock Cemetery, Greenville America’s most infamous sharpshooter was born, lived, and died in Ohio. Inbetween, she showed the world what women are capable of. Photo via Wikimedia Commons
Arthur B. McBride Holy Cross Cemetery, Brook Park The founder of the Cleveland Browns in 1944, McBride also arranged for the team to join the NFL in 1950. Photo via Wikipedia
Rutherford B. Hayes Spiegel Grove, Fremont Our 19th president, Hayes was also a lawyer and abolitionist who defended fugitive slaves in court in the antebellum years. He was also responsible for officially ending the Reconstruction Era through the Compromise of 1877. Photo via Wikimedia Commons
”Chef Boyardee” All Souls Cemetery, Chardon Hector Boiardi, known as Chef Boyardee, emigrated from Italy to New York City and then to Cleveland, where he founded his food franchise. Photo via Wikimedia Commons
Carl B. Stokes Lakeview Cemetery Stokes was the first black mayor of a major American city (Cleveland). He was elected in 1967 and remained in office until 1971. Photo via Cleveland Memory Project
Carolyn Keene Toledo Memorial Park, Sylvania The ghostwriter of the Nancy Drew series was born Mildred Wirt Benson and earned a master’s in journalism from the University of Iowa. She moved to Toledo and worked at the Toledo Blade for more than 50 years. Photo via National Museum of America/FlickrCC
Raymond Johnson Chapman Lakeview Cemetery The only Major League Baseball player who died from being hit by a pitch, played for the Indians. Photo via MamaGeek/Wikimedia Commons
Dave Thomas Union Cemetery, Columbus Thomas is best known as the founder of the fast-food burger gem Wendy’s. He appeared in almost every advertisement for the chain from 1989 until his death in 2002. Photo via John Matthew Smith/Wikimedia Commons
Harvey Samuel Firestone Columbiana Cemetery, Columbiana You guessed it — Firestone was the inventor of pneumatic tires and the founder of the Firestone Tire & Rubber Company in Akron. Photo via Wikimedia Commons
Warren G. Harding Harding Tomb, Marion Our 29th president, Harding was popular until scandals like the Teapot Dome Scandal came to light after he died. He is now considered one of our worst presidents. Photo via Mike Sharp/Wikimedia Commons
James A. Garfield Lakeview Cemetery Our 20th president, known best for dying after only six and a half months in office. Photo via Wikimedia Commons
Frankie Yankovic Calvary Cemetery Yankovic grew up and learned to play the accordion in Collinwood. He went on to win the title of “America’s Polka King” in a contest in Milwaukee, WI and starred in TV shows in Chicago and Buffalo centered around that identity. Photo via Wikimedia Commons
William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison Memorial, North Bend Harrison was the 9th president of the United States and the grandfather of the 23rd. He became the first U.S. president to die in office when he died of typhoid 31 days into his first term. Photo via Wikimedia Commons
William McKinley McKinley Memorial Park, Canton The 25th president of the United States, assassinated six months into his second term. He was succeeded by his vice president, Theodore Roosevelt. Photo via Wikimedia Commons
Eliot Ness Lakeview Cemetery Ness was the Public Safety Director for Cleveland from 1935-1942, but he’s better known for helping to catch Al Capone in Chicago. Photo via Michelle Belanger/Wikimedia Commons
John D. Rockefeller Lakeview Cemetery Yes, the oil tycoon himself is buried in Cleveland. Apparently when he died in 1937 at the age of 98, he requested to be interred in the city where his business career began. Photo by Arnold Genthe, via Wikimedia Commons
Sara Lucy Bagby Johnson Woodland Cemetery Sara Lucy Bagby Johnson was a runaway slave and the last to face charges under the Fugitive Slave Act. However, she was freed with the help of Union soldiers in 1862. She then settled in Cleveland. Sara Lucy died in 1906 and was buried in an unmarked grave until 2011. Photo via FlickrCreativeCommons
Chief Tarhe Chief Tarhe Monument, Upper Sandusky Chief Tarhe was born to the Porcupine Clan of the Wyandot people. Out of 13 chiefs to fight at the Battle of Fallen Timbers, he was the only one to survive, losing the use of one of his arms. In July 1975 he signed the Treaty of Greenville as the representative of the Wyandots. Above is not his memorial but a sign commemorating the last of the Wyandots. Photo via Daniel X. O’Neil/FlickrCC
Orville and Wilbur Wright Woodland Cemetery, Dayton The inventors of modern aircraft and the reasons Ohio is called “The Birthplace of Aviation,” are buried in a family plot in Dayton. Photo via Wikimedia Commons
Adella P. Hughes Lakeview Cemetery Founder of the Cleveland Orchestra, Hughes was also a talented pianist in her own right. Photo via STNTCO4/Wikimedia Commons

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